the patient; you find him recovered: yet, you tell him, fhaking your head, that he had been very ill: Upon my word, your imprudence had nearly coft your life: beware, I pray you, of another paroxyfm! Yes; but when comfort comes, like a fury, "With a whip in her hand, 'tis a fore matter to meet affliction!” The recovery of the patient, however, does not enable you to trace the diforder to its true cause. How can a physician trace the cause of any disease, if he will not ascertain facts, and weigh circumftances; if he will delude himself with falfe appearances, and fallacious inferences? You delude your felf with afferting, as a cause of our commercial is fufficiently accurate to shew to what parts of the country the principal relief was granted: distress, to be true, what you had an opportunity of knowing to be false, that our customers did not purchase*: yet, our cuftomers never purchased fo many goods, as in the three years, preceding our diftreffes, in 1793. Our customers, fay you with the fame breath, did not pay for our manufactures: yet, there were never fuch great importations, s in 1790-91-92; amounting, on an average, to £. 19,476,000, a year. Moreover, immenfe fums flowed in, you immediately add, to be invested in our funds. Here, you blow hot! But, you foon fubjoin, that there was an efflux of the precious metals t. Now, you blow cold! In this, however, you guess right; as any clock will point at the true hour, once in the day ‡. You indeed play an admirable game of crofs purposes throughout your thirteenth page. "All contradictions, fays • In page 13. "Sidney, There is very little gold bullion exported. Of filver, there were exported It is, in this year 1792, that you affert great fums of money were fent from France to Great Britain ! The price of filver on the exchange of London, fhows the great effect of the export of bullion to France, and the immediate Sidney, grow in thofe minds, which neither ab"folutely climb the rock of virtue, nor freely fink "into the fea of vanity." When we have thus eftimated the value of contradictions, it is easy to perceive, from this calculation, how little our commercial diftreffes were owing to a greater, or a lefs, export of manufactures; to the flux, or efflux of bullion; to the price of coins, or to the rate of exchange; all which had been long favourable to this country, and continued favourable to the moment of our bankruptcies. It is of as little ufe to estimate the property, which our circulating paper is fuppofed to reprefent. Property is neither reprefented by paper, nor paper by property. It is not true, either in theory, or practice, that paper circulates on the fecurity of property. immediate confequence of preventing this export. The prices were as under: When the export of bullion to France was flopt, the price of filver gradually fell to 5s. per ounce, which is a remarkable fact, that proves how much the demand from France operated on the market price. All All commercial paper does circulate, and ought to circulate, on the faith of commercial credit, which is quite diftinct from folid property. I grant, however, the more of property enters into the judgment, which we form of commercial credit, the more stable we think it, though property, without prudence, and integrity, is of little avail. We inquire about a merchant's punctuality, his honefty, and his management, but feldom about his capital, which it is impoffible to discover. In fact, some of the greatest bankers, in this nation, have done vaft bufinefs for ages, on the credit, of their honesty, punctuality, and management, with very little capital. A bill of exchange is accepted, and paid, on the commercial credit of the drawer, without any calculation of the property, which it may represent. When traders, indeed, are little connected, bills are often accepted on the credit of property configned, or to be configned; but, these are special cafes, which prove the general rule. By fuppofing, that paper reprefents property, you were led to Suppofe, that our commercial credit was greatly affected by the infecurity, which the war brought with it, as to our floating property, as to our factories, in Africa, and to our islands, in America, But, do fact, and experience, bear you out, in your fuppofe? No: our commercial credit was little affected, during the diftreffes of the American war, when feveral of our islands were poffeffed by the French, and our African factories, and floating property, were ftill more infecure. But, But, the invafion of Holland by. Dumourier was a blow aimed at the credit of all Europe, fay you*. I admit your affumption, but I deny your inferences. It is not true that, in confequence of Dumourier's invafion, any of our houfes either fell, or tottered. I cannot learn, that any Dutch houfes either fell, or tottered, in confequence of Dumourier's invafion. Yet, it is true, that the bankruptcy of our Burton, Forbes, and Gregory, on the 16th of March, after the repulfe, of Dumourier, did caufe two bankruptcies, in Hollandt, When you have fuppofed, what my inquiries contradict, that the invafion of Dumourier had overturned our commercial houses, you add, with more felicity than fact, "A fimilar effect took place, in various "parts of the continent, and the action, and re action, of ruin, spread far and wide.".. A fimilar effect did not take place, in Flanders, which Dumourier over-ran, plundered, and infulted. There have, in fact, been no bankruptcies in Flanders; owing to the ftability, and prudence, of her traders. My inquiries warrant me in faying, that there have been no bankruptcies in Italy, in -Switzerland, in Turkey, or in the interior of Germany, whatever there may have been at Ham-burgh. Aye, but the royal plunderers oppreffed and deftroyed the bank of Warsaw§. You allude pro In page 16. Namely, David Van Lennep; and F. Abrahams, Son,and Fetting, of Amfterdam. In page 16. § In page 16. bably |